Being a female viewer of a certain age, I would be curious if there was any other female out there my age (+/- 10 yrs) who did NOT see Sixteen Candles, and did not nurse even the tiniest crush on Jake Ryan. His clothes are still cool (Combats?!?
in 84?!? ok, he could lose the boat shoes), his haircut would need only slight tweaking, and the car would still work for most ladies.Had a extended discussion with Terri, my very serious, very efficient and incredibly stylish manager at RH Studio who confirmed that indeed, Jake Ryan is a seminal cinematic character. She in fact pointed me towards a site where I could purchase an 'I Love Jake Ryan' t-shirt (they even make men's sizes for all those poor gay teenagers who were in love with Jake too and can now wear the tshirt proudly!)
This phenomenon is not in my head: Two years ago on Valentines Day, there was an article in the Washington Post validating my crush after all these years. Of course I immediately forwarded this article to my friend Cecilie in Norway, who has had no shame in proclaiming her love for Jake.
This year on Valentines, however, a rebuttal article was published that argued that Lloyd Dobbler from Say Anything was the ultimate 80s crush, and that John Cusak's character set the gold standard for all men who would try and follow. Interesting article, thought provoking, but I'm sorry - Lloyd's long black trenchcoat is just offputting. (just too Columbine-y...)And in Googling all of this, I came across an interesting idea: the Teen Hollywood DVD box set. Had Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science. A fine representation of a certain period, but Torbjorn argues that his boxed set would be Heathers, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and Virgin Suicides. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is no time for auteurs, dear friend. This is a time for stepping up and embracing your true 80s self. Can't Buy Me Love, anyone??
So the gauntlet is out there: what do we think, O Children of the 80s?? Does Lloyd crush Jake? The acting superiority of John Cusak over Michael Schoeffling is a given, and therefore moot. Discussion to follow.
12 comments:
Oooo goody: an opportunity to embrace my inner big-haired-plastic-bracelet-wearing-Madonna-wannabe! As if that weren't thrilling enough, a chance to engage in one of my favorite distractions: LIST MAKING. I feel an imminent 80's heartthrob Top 10 coming on.
And we really must give the boys a chance to make a list of their own. I know for a fact that young Wynona is top of Peter's list, which also includes the nubile Mia Sara (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Legend).
shall i gloat about how old you are? perhaps not. but this i will say: andrews now has 80s bowling. yes, the 80s are considered vintage. how young and hip am i? oh so young and hip.
Lloyd who? What has the world come to??? Of course Jake Ryan rules on the top of the list. End of discussion. Next topic!
On that note, I have to add the young Rob Lowe as a very good second place. I had 98 pictures of him in my notebook in jr. high. St. Elmos Fire has the best soundtrack of that era!
I am appalled at myself because I can't remember ever watching 16 Candles. And I counted myself a Brat Pack fan. Honestly. I hang my head in shame.
So basically, I'm new to all this Jake Ryan adoration. Anyone want to loan the DVD to me?
Still pondering my list, but can I just throw Blane McDonough out there as a Jake Ryan contender? Can't remember him? What about this quote from imdb:
"His name is Blane? Oh! That's a major appliance, that's not a name!"
I'm with Eileen on this one. How did I miss this one. E, I'll watch the DVD with you if you can get hold of it.
I was so mad about Rob Lowe in the 80's, as well as Scott Baio (who couldn't but love Chachi? even if he had bad taste in women. Come on, Joanie?!). And then Tom C. Aaaargh. You just can't shake those teenage crushes that easily. I'm joining the I-hate-Katie-Holmes club.
L
Loved these movies, but let's talk about Thorn Birds! Come on - Meghan "Meghie", Father Ralph, even the abusive husband, the island rendez-vous, those Australian accents?!!! I've got to buy the dvds.
Amy
Hi Kirsten,
I realized while visiting Amanda last month that I MAY not have seen (much to my embarrassment) 16 Candles. Or Breakfast Club, or (most ashamedly) Pretty In Pink. Then again, I might have - I just can't remember. I do recall a dance in 16 Candles - but did I just see the end?? Plenty of other memories, though - including Footloose, St. Elmos Fire, Can't Buy Me Love . . . all of which I'm pretty sure I saw!
Jake is far better than Lloyd. Lloyd was a stalker with NO LIFE! Scary guy. Jake was totally cool. I LOVED that movie. I'm afraid to watch it again, though. Too many movies don't live up to my memories of them. And Blane -- he was a total wimp. Which movie was that again?
I think (testing my Teen Movie IQ here) that Blane is from Pretty in Pink, the Andrew McCarthy character. He was a wimp - totally lacking in moral fiber. But cute.
16 Candles certainly didn't live up to my fond memories, but let me just say: Jake Ryan DID.
And really? Lloyd Dobbler is lovely. He was NOT a stalker! Ok, no life, but what high school graduate is THAT motivated anyway?
Jake Ryan was the strong quiet type & that made him a hottie (not to mention his looks). I don't remember being all that attracted to him but my taste in guys in the 80s was questionable at best.
Lloyd Dobler - love the character, love the movie. Lloyd didn't have all the self-assurance that Jake did. And since Say Anything came out at the end of the 80s, I tend to put him in that no-mans-land that encompasses 1989-1991.
My contribution to this argument, almost exactly four years after it posted!, is that I love them both for different reasons. Jake, as others have pointed out, is the strong, silent type. He's a take charge, ass-kickin' guy. He's sweet and thoughtful. In short, perfect. Lloyd, on the other hand, is undeniably cute, but flawed. He's funny and quirky and weird and says the wrong thing but so lovable. Basically, he's the guy that I would probably fall for.
The problem comparing these two guys is that they're apples and oranges. Jake was an archetype, a teen girl fantasy. His character development in the movie was very shallow while Say Anything was about Lloyd, so you see so much more of his inner workings.
Now I REALLY want to see both of these movies!
Post a Comment